Fireworks Armor and Ribbons
by Alpha29King
Summary: Sequel to "Taming Black". Ichigo finally reaches Seretei Town and challenges the gym leader to a battle.
1. Chapter 1

**Fireworks Armor and Ribbons**

Part One

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**AN: Sorry for the wait. I've been busy with some other fics of mine. I'm also getting a little worried. I have a few fics with no readers or followers. Oh well. I just gotta be patient. If any of you are also fans of Naruto, then can you read my Naruto/Pokemon crossover fics?**

**Summary: Sequel to "Taming Black". Ichigo finally reaches Seretei Town and challenges the gym leader to a battle. Will he come out victorious or lose and go for a rematch. Read and find out.**

* * *

Ichigo sighed in relief after he ascended to the top of a small hill. From the hill, he saw his destination, Seretei Town. It was one day after he took his leave from the academy students. He only needed to hike for about ten more miles before he could reach the town's entrance. It also seemed a bit bigger tha Karakura Town. This was Seretei Town, a place where, supposedly, the best fireworks came from. Plus the large factory-like building on the other side of the town was a dead giveaway.

"Finally! We made it, guys!" Ichigo groaned and looked down at his two Pokemon that were currently loose. Mirabel, his Mawile, was happy and Black, his Poochyena, was still a bit gloomy for wearing the Soothe Bell. "C'mon you two. Let's go!"

The boy and his two Pokemon descended down the hill and got onto the road. After a few minutes of walking, Ichigo noticed some Pamtre berry bushes on the side of the road. He decided to pick all of them clean. Pamtre berries could be used to make Pokeblocks and Poffins. And when these Pamtre berry products were fed to a Pokemon, the Pokemon's beauty would increase. Ichigo was lucky, because these berries were some of the rarest ever. They would definitely come in handy in helping Helena the Feebas evolve in a Milotic.

After putting the berries in his backpack, Ichigo continued on his way. It was about an hour and a half when Ichigo finally made it to town. His first stop was the Pokemon Center. He found it by spotting the red roof. Pokemon Centers were great and the most important building to trainers. They offered free beds, cheap, but delicious, food and medical care for any Pokemon that needed it.

Upon entering the structure, he headed straight for the bank of video-payphones to make a call.

"Hi mom!" Ichigo smiled as the black screen came alive with his mother's familiar face.

"Hey! You made it back to civilization!" she greeted with her usual bright smile. "Excellent! What town are you in now?"

"Seretei Town," he answered.

"Wow!" she said in awe. "Have you caught any new Pokemon?"

"Yep!" Ichigo nodded. "I caught a Poochyena and a Feebas."

"Cool!" his mother commented. "Now show me!"

Ichigo picked up Black from the floor and set him on his lap. "Mom, say hi to Black."

The Poochyena tried biting Ichigo's hand when he started petting the dark-type.

"Not very friendly, is he?" Ichigo shook his head and returned the puppy into its Pokeball. "That's okay! The Soothe Bell around it's neck should help. Now show me that Feebas of yours."

"This is Helena," he introduced it after letting out and struggled to lift the large yellow fish into the camera's view.

"She's going to be the most beautiful Milotic ever," she said happily.

"Thanks mom," Ichigo sounded bashful and re-confined the fish.

"How's Mirabel doing by the way?" she wondered.

"She's good," Ichigo mentioned as said Pokemon appeared next to him.

"Hello Mirabel," Misaki cooed the steel-type. "Has my son been nice to you?"

Mirabel nodded bashfully.

"Good, because if he wasn't I would smack him upside the head," she warned.

"Mom!" Ichigo gasped.

"I'm serious Ichigo," she said. "By the way, since I don't trust Kisuke, I purchased a few acres of land behind our house and had it fenced up, so from now on, any Pokemon after six that you catch will come straight here. Plus, we even own the lake."

"Mom, how many acres did you buy?" Ichigo asked slowly."

"Let me check the deed." His mother pulled out a paper from her purse and scanned it for the information she wanted. "Ah! Here it is. Fifty-two acres."

"That's a lot," he said with a look of disbelief.

"Maybe so, but remember your sister Karin is also going on her own adventure when she turns ten," she reminded him.

"Oh yeah," he remembered and check the timer on the screen. "Gotta go mom. My time is almost up."

"Okay, good luck with your gym battle. Bye." His mother waved.

"Thanks! Bye," he said right before the timer hit zero and the screen shut off.

Sighing, Ichigo returned Mirabel to her Pokeball and handed his three Pokemon to Nurse Joy. To pass the time while he waited, he decided turn a few of his Pamtre berries into Pokeblocks and Poffins, so he first went to the Pokeblock machines, before heading for the Pokemon Center's kitchen.

After he was done making Poffins, Ichigo picked up his Pokemon from the front and went to pay a visit the local park. Feeding Helena some Poffins and training all of them is what he needed to do. Since the park was right next to the forest, he could have them battle some wild ones. There were plenty of people having picnics with their Pokemon. Maybe some trainers would challenge him to a battle.

"Alright guys! Come on out!" Ichigo yelled out as he threw three Pokeballs into the air, unleashing his Pokemon.

Mirabel and Black appeared in front of him, while Helena floated in a stream a few feet away from Ichigo.

"Okay now. Mirabel! Black! I want you both to go into that forest and battle as many wild Pokemon as you can." The Mawile followed the order immediately and ran toward the trees, but the Poochyena hesitated a bit before slowly making its way there. Then Ichigo spun around to face the Feebas. "Time for some Poffins."

Ichigo crouched down and plopped six of them into the water. Helena ate them happily.

"Glad you like them," the boy said as he got up. "Now see if you can find any water Pokemon in the stream and battle 'em"

Helena obeyed and dove down. With that, Ichigo walked to the forest to check on the progress of his other two Pokemon. It seemed that Black was having a little too much fun attacking wild Pokemon. After an hour of monitoring their growth, Ichigo came across a wild Cherubi.

'If I can't get Helena to evolve before the contest, I might as well catch this Pokemon to help me in the mean time,' Ichigo thought about it. Then he acted. "Mirabel! Use Bite on that Cherubi!"

Mirabel lunged at the grass-type with her jaw-like horns in front. But the Pokemon dodged it. Then it launched a barrage of razor sharp glowing leaves.

"Dodge that Magical Leaf!" Ichigo ordered but it was no use. Then he remembered that Magical Leaf was an unavoidable move.

The move hit Mirabel, but it didn't do a lot of damage. The tiny round Pokemon then charged at the steel-type with a Tackle.

"Mirabel!" Ichigo called out. "Use Bite to grab it and slam it to the ground."

The Mawile waited until the offending Pokemon was close enough. When the Cherubi was within range, Mirabel picked it up with her horns and swung it around to gain momentum before slamming it on the ground.

"Oh yeah!" Ichigo cheered and pulled an empty Pokeball from his pocket. "GO POKEBALL!"

The red and white sphere hit the semi-conscious Pokemon, and it sucked it in. The ball shook a few times, then the red light from the button blinked out, meaning a successful capture.

"Oh heck yeah!" Ichigo cheered, then walked to it and picked it up, striking a pose.

He pulled out his Pokedex from his pocket and used it to scan the Pokeball's inhabitant.

"Huh?! This Cherubi is a girl," he said as he finished reading his Pokedex, then released it in front of him. "Hmmm… I think I'll name you Hanako, but Hana for short."

The Cherubi, now Hanako, jumped for joy. She was happy with the name. Black and Helena reappeared, and it looked like the Feebas had lost a few scales. Ichigo knew that that was a sign that a Feebas was close to evolution. Helena just might evolve and be ready before his first contest.

"Helena! Black!" Ichigo called as he brought the grass-type closer to the riverbank. "Say hello to Hanako."

After introductions, though Black was still being a jerk and tried using Poison Fang on Hanako, Ichigo fed them some Pokesnacks. Ichigo had to return the Poochyena to its Pokeball. He gave Helena a generous portion of Poffins. He himself was munching on a granola bar.

For hours, Ichigo trained all four of his Pokemon. He got challenged by a few picnicking trainers and managed to beat them all, though Black got knocked out since he refused to listen to Ichigo. After some rest, he got to his feet, noticing that Helena had lost few more scales.

"Alright, let's head back to the Pokemon Center, grab some dinner and get some sleep," he smiled. "We're scouting the gym tomorrow."

He returned Helena, and Mirabel and Hanako followed him back. After a quick dinner, he checked his Pokemon in with Nurse Joy, then went to his room. Ichigo fell asleep coming up with a strategy to hold up against Self-destruct and Explosion. His plan was the last thing on his mind.

'Mirabel's Iron Defense should do the trick…'

* * *

The next morning, after retrieving his Pokemon from Nurse Joy, having breakfast and giving Helena her morning supply of Poffins, Ichigo found himself in front of the fireworks factory. It took a few hours of wandering around, and countless stops to ask for directions, before he found out that the Seretei Town Gym and the fireworks factory were the same building. Fireworks were also sold in there as well as being shipped out to stores all over the world. With a sigh, he walked in.

The front door led straight into the store. There were windows that viewed over an indoor Zen garden. The door behind the counter he guess that it led to the gym field and the area where the pyrotechnics were being produced. A boy, that seemed to be a little bit older than he was, sat at the counter reading a league magazine. He wore a white bandana over his head and a black one-piece jumpsuit. A Donphan was sleeping at his feet. Ichigo guessed it was female because it was styling a big pink bow.

Ichigo picked up a shopping basket and browsed the shelves for a bit. He filled the basket with a few fireworks. When he came across the sparklers, he saw how cheap they were and picked up all of the packets. Which was twenty and every packet held ten sparklers. Once he got what he wanted, he went to pay.

"Two Roman Candles, three tiny bottle rockets, twenty sparklers, and one large case of poppers," the boy said as he scanned the products. "Will that be all?"

Ichigo spotted some two-and-a-half-foot long sparklers behind the glass counter. "How much are those?"

"They're two bucks each," the boy mentioned. "They come in three colors, red, green and blue."

"I'll take five of each," Ichigo ordered, taking out his wallet.

The boy grabbed a plastic tube from a shelf and filled it with the giant sparklers.

"Anything else?" he said placing the tube on the counter with one hand and marking the price on the register with the other.

It came down to it being a bit over fifty bucks.

Ichigo placed the money on the counter. "I would also like a gym badge."

"Mmhmm!" The boy looked at Ichigo skeptically. "So you wanna challenge the gym, huh?"

"Yes."

"Alright, follow me," he said, motioning to the door behind the counter, then faced the sleeping Donphan. "Bonnie! If any other costumers come in ring the bell and I come."

The boy led Ichigo through a long hallway.

"The name's Ganju," the boy introduced himself. "Ganju Shiba."

"My name is Ichigo Kurosaki," he said, more interested on his battle up ahead. "From Karakura Town."

"Well Ichigo Kurosaki," Ganju said, as they got closer to the door at the end of the hallway. "How many badges have you acquired yet?"

"None yet," the orangette replied with a determined tone. "This is my first gym battle."

"Really?" Ichigo nodded as Ganju open the door and the two of them walked in. "Well, good luck. You're gonna need it."

"I know," Ichigo mumbled under his breath.

They came upon a battlefield painted over the floor. It was a simple field with no obstacles or a pool of water. To one side were bleachers. To the other was a wall with windows and a door. The wall went all the way up to the roof. On the other side of the wall was the area where the fireworks were made. Ganju walked to the wall and tapped on the glass. He got the attention of a woman. Said woman soon walked into the field, followed by a boy.

The woman had long black hair in two ponytails and light brown eyes, and was… well… busty. She sported a white bandana over her hair like Ganju, a semi-open red shirt, revealing a large amount of cleavage, and an ankle-length skirt with a split on the side. She was also barefoot. Six Pokeballs were clipped to her tanned, brown leather trainer's belt. The woman seemed pissed.

The boy had shoulder-length hair. Like Ganju, he was also sporting a black one-piece jumpsuit. Instead of a bandana on his head, he wore a welding mask. He also seemed angry.

"What do you want, Ganju!" the woman yelled at Ganju. "I was working on a new firework."

"Ummm… sis, you've got a challenger." Ganju mentioned on a terrified tone.

"Well, why didn't you just say so," she smiled as she turned to face Ichigo. "What's your name, kid, and where are you from?"

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki from Karakura Town," he answered with a hint of excitement in his voice.

"Well hello Ichigo Kurosaki of Karakura Town," she said as her smile transformed into a smirk. "I am the Seretei Town Gym Leader, Kukaku Shiba. And those two are my little brothers, Ganju and Kaien."

The commotion caught the attention of the rest of the factory's employees. They started filling the bleachers. Kukaku didn't mind though. The workers need a break anyway.

"It's been a while since I've had a challenger," Gym Leader Kukaku mentioned.

"Two years to be exact," Kaien reminded.

"We were about to lose our gym permit," Ganju added.

"Here're the rules, Ichigo," the gym leader started to explain. "This will be a two-on-two battle. Only you are allowed to substitute Pokemon. You won't get my badge if the match ends in a draw. Kapeesh!"

"Understood." Ichigo nodded, understanding the rules.

"Good! Now get to your position," she commanded. "Kaien, you ref! Ganju, get off the field!"

When everything was set, the gym leader and the challenger called out their first Pokemon.

"Let's go, Hanako!" Ichigo unleashed his Cherubi.

"It's show time, Spinner!" Kukaku released a Baltoy.

Both Pokemon appeared on the field in a flash of white light.

"Since you're the challenger in a while, I'll let make the first move." Kukaku smirked sadistically.

Ichigo felt a shiver go down his spine. "Fine! Hanako, use Magical Leaf!"

Glowing leaves were closing in on the ancient looking Pokemon.

"Use Confusion to stop it and send it right back!" the gym leader commanded.

The Magical Leaf halted in midair, only inches from the Baltoy. A bluish-purple aura surrounded the leaves, before they were launched right back at the Cherubi. Hanako was hurt badly.

"Are you okay?" Hanako got up again and moved her body in a nodding motion. "Alright! Use Magical Leaf again, but keep them going until they hit."

The Cherubi sent a barrage of the glowing leaves at its opponent.

"Try to evade 'em, Spinner!" Kukaku ordered.

The gym leader's Pokemon tried its best to do as told, but it eventually got hit. With the Baltoy being part-ground, it took a lot of damage. Spinner now was trying to keep itself from collapsing.

"Mud Slap!"

Spinner hurled a ball of mud.

"Dodge it and use Tackle!" Ichigo was getting excited.

A ghost of a smirk appeared on Gym Leader Kukaku's face as the grass-type move to the side, avoiding getting hit by the mud, and was now running toward the teetering Baltoy. She waited for when it was close enough, then called out a move.

"Self-destruct," she muttered lowly.

"Huh? Wha?" a bewildered Ichigo said as he remembered what those academy kids said.

Unfortunately, it was too late. Spinner's body started to glow white, then an explosion filled the room with a loud bang, and smoke and dust. When the dust settled, both Pokemon were laying on the floor, fainted.

"Both Pokemon are unable to battle!" Kaien called the results from the side, and the crowd was going wild. "No winner!"

Both Ichigo and the gym leader returned their Pokemon.

"It's show time, Boomer!" Kukaku called out her next Pokemon.

It was purple, round and it had spores all over its body. Its beady eyes and wide smile creeped out Ichigo. And the skull and crossbones pattern under its mouth wasn't helping the matter. He whipped out his Pokedex and read the input on the Pokemon in front of him. It was the poison-type Koffing. Ichigo knew what to do.

"Let's go, Mirabel!" Ichigo unleashed his Mawile.

Mirabel appeared on the field with her hands on her hips, confident grin on her face and bow puffed up. Her Intimidate ability took affect immediately. The Koffing backed up a bit in fear.

"You're smart, kid!" The gym leader smirked before extracting a brown glass bottle from her belt's pouch. She then emptied it in one go. "You knew that steel-types are affected by poison-type moves."

"Ummm… okay… thanks…" Ichigo was almost speechless at the compliment.

"Alright! Boomer, use Thunderbolt!" Kukaku's command sounded a bit slurred.

The Koffing's was surrounded with electricity and then it shot it at the Mawile.

"Counter it with your own Thunderbolt, then use Iron Defense!" Ichigo called out.

The two electric attacks collided, causing an explosion. With the Koffing distracted by the explosion, Mirabel's body shined as it became harder due to her Iron Defense.

"Boomer! Snap out of it and use Smokescreen!" she ordered as the alcohol took affect.

The purple Pokemon spit a cloak of black smoke from its mouth and it surrounded the Mawile. Mirabel looked confused as it looked around, losing sight of the poison-type.

"Mirabel! Calm down!" Ichigo soothed. "Keep using Iron Defense until the smoke clears up, and when it does, use Return!"

For the next two minutes, Mirabel's body hardened and looked like polished stainless steel. She spotted the dark shape of Boomer through the smoke as it started to disappear, and lunged herself at him. Four pink hearts appeared around the two Pokemon on impact.

"That's it!" Kukaku roared. "EXPLOSION!"

"Hold your ground and use Iron Defense one last time!" Ichigo yelled.

The Koffing started to glow as the Mawile got polished once more. Mirabel covered her face as Boomer finally exploded. Everybody in the room was quiet as they watched tensely, waiting for the dust to settle. When the room cleared up, Boomer was on the floor unconscious and Mirabel kneeled on one knee, panting hard.

"Boomer is unable to battle!" Kaien yelled out then waved an open hand in Ichigo's direction. "The Mawile wins and the victory goes to Ichigo of Karakura Town."

"Yeah!" Ichigo jumped in a cheering manner and pumped a fist in the air. Mirabel mimicked her trainer and ran to him. Ichigo hugged and spun her around. "We won Mirabel! We won!"

The audience, which was made up of factory workers, gave the victorious boy a round of applause. Kukaku returned her downed Pokemon and complimented it with a sigh. Soon, all the workers went back to work. The gym leader walked up to the boy and retrieved something shiny from her pouch.

"Here, kid. The Pyro Badge" Kukaku handed Ichigo the shiny object, which turned out to be the gym badge. It was red and blue, and shaped in the outline of a bottle rocket. "This is proof of your victory over my gym. The Seretei Town Gym."

"Sweet," Ichigo commented, placing the badge in his case.

"Since I don't have a favorite type of Pokemon, I don't have a certain TM type to give you," she started explaining. "What I do instead is grab ten random TMs from storage and package them together and give 'em to the trainer who won over me. So… here."

Gym Leader Kukaku held out a small box. Ichigo took it and thanked her.

"Now get outta here! I got work to do!" she ordered.

With a nod, Ichigo left, but not before picking up his fireworks. On his way to the Pokemon Center, he checked his TMs. There was Shadow Ball, Aerial Ace, Water Pulse, Dragon Claw, Earthquake, Brick Break, Shock Wave, Attract, Steel Wing, and Overheat. Once at the Center, he transported the leftover Pamtre berries and half of the fireworks back home, and told his mom about his win at the gym. After going to his room, he got his things ready to head out for Rokungai Town the next morning. Once everything was set, he climbed into bed for some sleep.

'_Now to find a way to beat an Aggron…'_

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**Finally, done! This is the first installment of a three-shot. Not all of my fics following Ichigo's Pokemon journey will be one-shots. Ichigo should be getting his egg very soon. So leave your reviews.**

**And they better be good!**

**SEE YA IN PART TWO**


	2. Chapter 2

**Fireworks Armor and Ribbons**

Part Two

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**Time for Ichigo's Gym Battle against Gym Leader Kenpachi Zaraki!**

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Ichigo strolled into Rokungai Town after three days hiking westward through the forest from Seretei Town, just as the sun was starting to set. As planned, his first stop was Pokemon Center. The only exciting things that had happened during his trip, were that his Feebas, Helena, evolved into Milotic and that Mirabel learned Attract after seeing a wild Rattata use it on an unsuspecting Bidoof that was eating berries out of a bush, even though he had the TM for it. The battles were alright, but the offers of trading Pokemon because some trainers wanted to get their hands on Mirabel got annoying.

After his four Pokemon were done with their check up, Ichigo got a room and dropped his backpack in there. Then he head out to get something to eat.

"With so many places to eat, it hard to make up my mind," Ichigo said to himself as Mirabel and Black kept close.

After twenty minutes of thinking about it, he decided on ramen. Luckily for him, Black had already eaten more than his fair share of Poke-chow, way more, so the Poochyena was still full. So he returned him to his Pokeball. Entering a ramen stand, he could smell the aromas in the air. He and Mirabel took two empty stool and they waited for the cook to take their order.

"You're new here," the cook said after serving another customer. "Now what would you like?"

"I'll have two miso ramen," Ichigo ordered.

"Alright," the man nodded before proceeded to start cooking. "So, what brings you to Rokungai Town?"

"I'm on my Pokemon journey," Ichigo said while smiling at Mirabel's antics as she waited for the food. "I'm here for my second gym badge and my first contest ribbon."

"What gym did you just beat?"

"The Seretei Town gym," he replied. "I was able to beat the gym leader thanks to Mirabel here."

"Impressive," the ramen cook said, placing two bowls in front of Ichigo and Mirabel. "By the way kid, what's your name?"

"My name's Ichigo Kurosaki," he answered.

"Well Ichigo, good luck with your gym match," the man said before going to take orders for other costumers.

An hour, and three bowls each, later, Ichigo and Mirabel were full. He paid the bill and they left. Ichigo decided to walk it off for a while. With his Mawile at his side, he headed for the plaza. Once there, they took in the sights of the up coming night life of Rokungai Town's plaza. He spotted an ice cream stand that the owner was closing down for the day. He managed to buy two cones filled with single scoop of vanilla ice cream each, before the stand was completely closed. They took a seat on a bench in the middle of the plaza near gazebo.

While they were enjoying their frozen treats, Ichigo started to notice the people around him. There were people just getting out of work. It also seemed that the plaza brought out all the criminals at night. But with four Pokemon at his side, Ichigo wasn't worried at all. There were bikers in leather vests, pants and boots, Yakuza punks, and drunks wondering around.

"Yo, kid with the orange hair," somebody called him out. Ichigo turned to face whoever it was and saw a man in sunglasses and a black leather jumpsuit and with a green Mohawk and piercings, riding a red and white mountain bike. "That's a nice Mawile you've got there. Now hand it over."

"There's no way I'm giving you Mirabel," Ichigo shook his head. "Now leave me alone before I call the cops."

"How 'bout a battle," the punk offered with a smile. "If I win, you give me that crazy colored Mawile of yours."

"And what if I win?" Ichigo countered, grinning.

"Um…" The guy hadn't thought ahead, then he looked down. "I'll give you… my bike."

"Deal," Ichigo accepted, shocking Mirabel. "But this will be a double battle."

"Alright," the man said, overconfidently.

As if the crowd had heard them, they cleared out, making room for a battle. Ichigo got up and took his spot on one side. His opponent rode his bike to the other side.

"Slick! Savage! Time for battle!" The green-haired man unleashed his Pokemon.

With help from his Pokedex, Ichigo was able to identify his challenger's Pokemon as a poison-type Muk and a normal-type Vigoroth. After putting away his Pokedex, he sighed and plucked a Pokeball from his belt.

"C'mon Mirabel, you're up," he said to the shiny Mawile, then released his other choice. "Let's go, Helena!"

In a flash of light, the Milotic appeared on the field beside Mirabel. The women in the audience started going gaga over Helena's extreme beauty.

"I guess I'll go first. Slick, use Sludge Bomb on that Milotic! Savage, pound tha Mawile with Brick Break!" the man on the bike ordered.

The Muk launched a barrage of ball of poisonous sludge from its mouth and the Vigoroth rushed in with its paws glowing.

"Mirabel, get in front of Helena and block that Sludge Bomb, then use Iron Defense! Helena, send that Vigoroth flying with Water Pulse!" Ichigo commanded.

Mirabel got in front of her teammate and took the poisonous attack, not being affected at all, and Helena charged a ball of high-pressured water and shot it at the incoming Vigoroth. I made contact and sent the normal-type colliding with the Muk.

"Get up you two!" the punk roared.

They did, but the Water Pulse had somehow managed to confuse them both.

"Double Attract!" Mirabel and Helena launched beams of pink hearts, causing their opponents to fall in love with them. "Mirabel, hit the Vigoroth with your own Brick Break! Helena, Tackle that Muk!"

The shiny Deceiver whacked the Vigoroth over the head with her glowing hand and Helena charged in head first towards the Muk. And in a flash, the battle was over. Both of the punk's Pokemon were unconscious on the floor. The battle was over. The spectators were silent for a while, not believing what they have just witnessed, then they roared into a cheer.

"You'll pay for this!" The punk returned his immobile Pokemon and ran off, leaving his bike behind.

Mirabel was angry with her trainer for making that bet, but the feeling of victory made her forget about it. Ichigo walked to the bike and got on it. He returned his Pokemon and rode his new bike back to the Pokemon Center.

'Tonight was just plain weird…'

* * *

Leaving the bike at the Pokemon Center and with only his Pokemon on his belt, Ichigo set out the next morning in search of the gym. After about an hour with no luck, he started asking for directions. Everybody he asked told him to look for the scrap yard, so he started asking where that was. Soon he was standing in front of the scrap yard's entrance on the southern edge of town. He waited until he had grabbed some lunch from the diner across the street, before he went in.

Through his walk in the scrap yard, he found a big muscular man with bell-tipped, spiky black hair and an eye patch, giving out orders to the other workers. The top half of his welder's jumpsuit was hanging from his waist and scars decorated his torso. And a little girl with short pink hair and light brown eyes, that looked to be around three years old, was clinging to his left leg.

"Um… sir?" Ichigo asked with a trembling voice.

The man turned his head and looked down at him. "What do you want kid? This ain't no playground."

"I'm looking for the Rokungai Town Gym," the boy said. "Everyone I asked told me to come here."

"You're looking to challenge the gym leader for the badge, huh?" Ichigo nodded his response. "Well, you're in the right place. I'm the gym leader, Kenpachi Zaraki."

"Okay…" Ichigo said unbelievingly. "Who's the girl?"

"This is my adopted daughter, Yachiru Kusajishi."

"Where's the gym?"

"It's behind that scarp pile," the gym leader motioned with his thumb to a large pile of metallic pieces. "But you'll have to prove yourself to me before I can accept your challenge."

"How do I prove myself then?" Ichigo crossed his arms.

"Just give me five hours of backbreaking work here in the scrap yard today, without complaining, and I'll battle you tomorrow." Kenpachi explained his condition, holding out his hand. "Deal?"

"Deal!" Ichigo took his hand and shook it.

The little girl started giggling.

"By the way, what's your name and where're your from?" Gym Leader Kenpachi asked.

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, and I'm from Karakura Town," he replied.

"How many badges have you acquired as of yet?"

"Only one. This will be my second badge."

"Which one?"

"The Pyro Badge."

"So you actually beat that bitch, Kukaku." Kenpachi dragged a hand down his face, smiling. Then he noticed a large truck pulling into the yard backwards. "Ichinose!"

"Yes, boss?" A man with black hair and a welding mask covering his face appeared.

"The truck from the melting facility is here," Kenpachi said. "Gather some men and fill it up!"

"Right away, sir," the man said before running to do as ordered. "Chelute! Ayon! Get the bulldozers. We've got a job to do."

"Yo! Lucky!" Kenpachi called out for somebody. "I gotta go clear the way and the gym. One of my workers will show you the ropes around here. Alright?"

"Yep!" Ichigo gave a confident nod.

"Good." The gym leader grinned, showing his sharp teeth, then he saw a worker walking toward them. "Ah, Lucky's here."

"You called for me, boss?" the man asked.

"This boy here, Ichigo Kurosaki, challenged me, so he must prove himself worthy for me to accept it," Gym Leader Kenpachi patted the boy's shoulder. "Show him the ropes around here."

"Five hours?" Kenpachi nodded as he started walking off. With a sigh, Lucky turned to the boy. "C'mon Ichigo, let's go. If you want, you can have your Pokemon help you out."

With that, Lucky showed him how to do the work. Lucky had spiky black hair in a low-lying ponytail. His sunglasses covered his eyes and a Raticate was at his side constantly. Ichigo only brought out Mirabel to help. The other workers acted like they didn't notice the shiny Mawile, but Ichigo heard their impressed whistles. Within the first hour, six other trucks came in for scrap metal. During the second hour, Ichigo learned why everybody called his guide Lucky. Apparently, he survived an accident a few years ago. He got so used to his nickname, that he completely forgot his real name.

But on the third hour, all hell broke loose. Static electricity caused a fire near the fuel tanks for the heavy machinery. Soon, one of the three thirty-thousand gallon tanks to explode.

"Somebody, call the fire department!" a worker yelled.

"We need the Blastoise Fire Squad!" another said.

"No!" Ichigo yelled running towards the blaze. "I'll handle this!"

"Don't be reckless, kid!" Kenpachi roared.

Ichigo ignored him and called out his Milotic. "Helena! Use Water Pulse in a barrage and try to extinguish that fire!"

Helena did as told and sent one ball of pressurized water after another. It was having little effect on the fire. And after twenty minutes of this, Helena was starting to show signs of exhaustion.

"Don't give up, Helena! I know you can do it!" he tried to motivate her. "Please! Try once more!"

Using her last bit of strength, Helena charged up. But instead of launching a ball of water, it was a large stream of water. Helena had learned to use Hydro Pump. And it seemed to be working.

"YEAH!" Ichigo jumped for joy. "Alright, Helena! You learned Hydro Pump!"

After five minutes, the fire was out.

"Well, well, well," Kenpachi chuckled. "The brat actually did it."

Ichigo ran to catch the tired collapsing Milotic.

"Sir." Lucky stood at Kenpachi's side. "I suggest you let the kid get back to the Pokemon Center, and just accept his challenge. He and his Pokemon need some serious rest."

"I guess you're right," Kenpachi grumbled as he rubbed the back of his neck. "ICHIGO!"

"Huh?" The boy looked up at the gym leader.

"Go back to the Pokemon Center and heal your Milotic and come back tomorrow for your gym battle against me. But if you lose to me, you'll have to do a week's worth of work here to receive my gym badge."

"Got it!" Ichigo returned Mirabel and Helena and ran out of the scrap yard and ran directly for the Pokemon Center.

"You've gone soft boss… Ow!"

* * *

Ichigo stood at the front of the scrap yard the next morning. With a hefty sigh, he walked in. The big pile that blocked the way to the gym had been cleared up. The yard was deserted. Lucky was waiting at the gym's front door. The man led him through the building's hallway. After a while, they enter a big room, which turned out to be the battlefield.

Lucky went to stand in the referee's spot, leaving Ichigo in the challenger's box. Kenpachi was already waiting on his side of the field. The bleachers were packed full with the yard's workers.

"Alright kid, here are the rules," Kenpachi said. "I only own one Pokemon, you can use your entire team if you'd like. And you are allowed to substitute."

"Don't worry," Ichigo grinned. "I only need two."

"The battle between the Rokungai Town gym leader, Kenpachi Zaraki, and the challenger, Ichigo Kurosaki from Karakura Town, is about commence!" Lucky told the audience.

"Battle on! Ken-chan!" the gym leader unleashed big Pokemon Ichigo quickly identified as an Aggron.

Ichigo started snickering, getting ready to burst out laughing. "What kind of name is that?"

"Yachiru named him," the man replied with a twitching eyebrow. "Not me."

"Sorry, I was just wondering." Ichigo got control over himself. "Let's go, Mirabel!"

In a flash of white light, the pink and yellow Mawile appeared on the field. And immediately, the Aggron took a few steps back, due to Mirabel's Intimidate.

"I've been wondering kid, where did you get that Pokemon?" Kenpachi asked. "And what's with the bow?"

"I caught Mirabel in the forest behind my house. She's also my starter and my first Pokemon ever," Ichigo explained his tale. "And my little sister was the one that put that bow there."

"Battle begin!" Lucky called out.

"I'll let you have the first move," Kenpachi offered.

"Alright. Let's start with Thunderbolt!" Ichigo ordered. "Then follow up with Iron Defense!"

The Deceiver charged up and launched a blast of electricity at the Aggron. It made contact, causing it a considerable amount of damage. But the big Pokemon looked like it barely felt it. Then her body shined as it hardened.

Kenpachi scoffed. "Nice try, kid. Now try this on for size. Flamethrower!

"Dodge it and use Thunderbolt one more time, Mirabel! Then use Fake Tears!"

The Aggron spat out a stream of fire and the Mawile jumped out of the way. She charged up again and launched another blast of electricity. The Aggron got it again and she started crying, drastically lowering her opponent's Special Defense.

"HAMMERARM!" Kenpachi roared.

The Aggron's arm started glowing and rushed in to give Mirabel a clothesline.

"Dodge, Thunderbolt again and use Attract!" Ichigo commanded

Mirabel managed to duck down to avoid the Hammerarm and electrocuted the big steel/rock-type Pokemon. When she got back onto her feet, Mirabel wink at him and shot a beam of pink hearts, which encircled Ken-chan, before they closed in. Big pink hearts appeared in his eyes.

"Damn it! Ken-chan, snap out of it!" Gym Leader Kenpachi ordered.

"BRICK BREAK!" now Ichigo roared.

Mirabel jumped into the air and slammed a glowing fist onto the Aggron's head, hard. Ken-chan collapsed onto ground causing dirt to fly into the air. Ichigo noticed that his Pokemon was breathing hard. He was lucky that his starter hadn't gotten hit. Not willing to risk letting her get knocked out, he switched Mirabel out.

"Mirabel, return!" A red beam absorbed her back into her Premier Ball. Ichigo placed the ball back onto his belt and grabbed another one. "Let's go, Helena!"

The substitution canceled the Attract. The Aggron got back onto its feet, shaking its horned head. And boy was it pissed.

Kenpachi laughed manically. "Bad choice of Pokemon! Ken-chan, Thunderpunch! This is the most fun battle I've had in a long time!"

The Iron Armor Pokemon's fist started crackling with electricity. Then swung it at the Milotic. Without an order, Helena gracefully dodged the incoming Pokemon.

"Metal Claw! Then Double-Edge!" the man told his Pokemon.

Again, Helena dodge it with grace and finesse. Every attack that Ken-chan used, Helena dodge. The Milotic kept teasing the now infuriated Aggron.

"Helena, wrap around it and go with a point-blank Hydro Pump!"

The beautiful water serpent speedily slithered up to the metallic reptile and wrapped its body around it, immobilizing it. When her head was next to Ken-chan's, she spat out the powerfully brutal stream of water. The Aggron started roaring in pain. Within a few seconds, Ken-chan collapsed again and Helena slithered back near her trainer. This time the Aggron didn't get back up.

"Ken-chan is unable to battle!" Lucky yelled out. "The victory goes to Ichigo of Karakura Town.!"

The crowd went wild as Kenpachi returned his Aggron. Ichigo ran and hugged his Milotic.

"You did it, girl." He was smiling. "You did it!"

"Damn, kid! Your Pokemon were fast," Kenpachi complimented. "Ken-chan couldn't get a hit, but I still enjoyed myself."

"Thanks…" Ichigo said.

"As proof of your victory in my gym, I present to you the Warrior Badge." Kenpachi handed him the badge, which looked like a silver shield with a gold sword crossed diagonally behind it.

"Cool." Ichigo took the badge and placed it in his badge case. "Now for my ribbon."

* * *

Two days later, Kenta stood on a podium accepting the Rokungai Ribbon, which was blue, looking snazzy in his three-piece all-white tuxedo. He had used Hanako for the appeals round, and Helena for the battle round. As he stood there, holding the ribbon, the crowd was going roaring with excitement. The ribbon was presented to him the Rokungai Town's Nurse Joy. Holding the ribbon up, Ichigo, Helena and Hanako had their picture taken.

After his appeal and while he waited for the results, he met Kenpachi and Yachiru backstage and a woman that Kenpachi introduced as his girlfriend, Retsu Unohana. The trio had front row seats and cheered for Ichigo. Outside the contest hall, Ichigo was talking to Kenpachi. Before the contest, Ichigo had managed to attach a basket to the handlebars and some sort of patted flat surface over the rear tire, making it a seat for Mirabel.

"So, where are you heading now?" Kenpachi asked with Yachiru riding his shoulders.

"Don't know yet," Ichigo shrugged.

"You should head to Red Forest City, which is a bit north from here," the gym leader suggested.

"Who is the gym leader there?" Ichigo wondered.

"His name is Sajin Komamura," the man said. "He's always wearing a helmet that looks like a Ninetales' head and heavy samurai armor."

"I guess I'll check it out," Ichigo replied as he climbed onto the bike. "Why's it called Red Forest City?"

"You'll know when you get there." That was all Kenpachi said before walking off.

"I guess Red Forest City it is."

Ichigo rode off with Mirabel in her seat and Hanako in the basket.

'_Two badges in less than a week. Not bad at all…'_

* * *

**Sorry I didn't put the details of the contest. I'm not used to it, but I will be. I just hope that it's soon. Please vote on what should hatch from the Pokemon egg that Ichigo will get in my poll. Also, don't forget to review.**

**SEE YA!**


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